Dodgers' Kiké Hernández could make his season debut Monday against Rockies

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers utilityman Kiké Hernández is expected to be activated in time to make his season debut Monday after recovering from surgery on his left elbow.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Hernández should be available for the start of their home series against the Colorado Rockies.

“There’s a different energy with Kiké,” Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. “There’s a levity. There’s an intensity. There’s a good worker in there, a winning player. So I’m looking forward to having that edge.”

Hernández, 34, signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract in February that kept him with the Dodgers. He underwent surgery last fall that kept him from playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and delayed the start of his 2026 season.

He hit .214 with a .298 on-base percentage with three RBIs in 12 games while on a rehabilitation assignment with Oklahoma City. He batted .203 with a .255 on-base percentage, 10 homers and 35 RBIs in 92 games with Los Angeles last season.

Hernández often has done his best work in October while helping the Dodgers win World Series in 2020, 2024 and 2025. He has batted .272 with an .826 OPS, 16 homers and 42 RBIs in 103 postseason games.

His return comes while Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy recovers after a 95.5-mph sinker from Milwaukee’s Aaron Ashby hit him in the right wrist on Friday. X-rays were negative and the Dodgers expressed optimism that Muncy avoided a major injury.

“We were resolved to not having him available this weekend,” Roberts said. “My expectation is that he’s getting a little bit better today and maybe swing a bat tomorrow to see. I don’t expect him in the lineup tomorrow either.”

Muncy is batting .258 with a .363 on-base percentage, .515 slugging percentage, 12 homers and 19 RBIs in 48 games.

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